A Gem From the Past
by Dusklight77
Summary: A smapshot into Gemma Lassiter's life growing up and just how she came to be so obsessed with fire type pokemon. Set after ORAS, one-shot companion to my other story "A Little Bit of Gillyness", OC-centric. Hopefully this provides some insight as to why Gemma acts the way she does.


**A/N:**

 **So this is supposed to be a backstory of my other fic "A Little Bit of Gillyness" to provide some reason for her attitude and behavior to her starter. I hope you like it, it was a lot of fun to write.**

* * *

A Gem From the Pas

Gemma stared intently down at her paper, meticulously moving her instrument to make sure the lines were perfect. All around the room, similar scratches of pencils and crayons on paper filled the air while the steady pacing of the teacher moved through the room. Every once in a while, the footsteps would stop and a quiet whisper would be heard as she leaned down to the student in question and gave feedback on their work.

Gemma ignored the noise and put down her orange crayon for a red one. Once again her eyes furrowed as she carefully traced the crayon around the figures already on the page.

"Oh!" the soft noise drew Gemma out of her work and she looked up to see Ms. Podock looking over her shoulder.

Gemma smiled a huge smile, happy to share her masterpiece. "It's my pokemon team!" She proudly presented it to her teacher, chubby fingers still clutching the red crayon. "I'm gonna be the best just like Mamma says!"

Ms. Podock gave a tremulous smile, her blue eyes not quite able to meet Gemma's own brown ones. "It certainly is…interesting." She replied. "Though, I notice that there's not a lot of…colors in your drawing."

Gemma looked back at her work, her six year old face twisted in a frown. She couldn't quite see what was wrong with her drawing. Sure her face was a little oval-ish and the blaziken by her side towered over her, but the camerupt and magcargo were pretty good to her eyes. Even the speckled red that had accidentally rubbed off of the crayon in her hand made the pokemon look like they were burning with an inner fire. And the exploding volcano behind them all looked so cool! She looked back at her teacher. "But red is a color."

Ms. Podock coughed. "Yes, and a lovely vibrant color too, but maybe try for something a little more…friendly?"

Gemma still couldn't see what was wrong. "But fire types _are_ friendly. They're warm and dry. And they can make islands in the pool so I don't have to swim!"

"But swimming is nice to cool off on a hot day. And a friendly grass type can help you play too." Ms. Podock pointed out. "And they're less likely to hurt the people around them."

"But I don't like the water," Gemma said. "I wish all the water was gone, then I could play with Flame anywhere."

Ms. Podock turned white and took a small step back. Her hands shook and she had to take a moment to compose herself from her lapse in control. "Gemma," she began. "You might want to pick out another type. Not as a replacement," she assured Gemma when her eyes started to water, "but to add some more, uh, friends to your party."

When Gemma continued to look confused and worried, she continued. "People might look at you in the wrong light, might get the wrong impression if you have a pure fire team. They might see you as a hothead, not able to calm down. Or as a danger to yourself or others around you. They might see you as someone who…might be someone to watch because of the Clash of Titans."

Throughout Ms. Podock's explanation, Gemma's eyes kept watering and her nose scrunched up. Ms. Podock tried to think of a way to calm down the distressed child. "You could travel with fairy type pokemon, they're perfect for such a cute girl like you."

Gemma sniffled, a whine starting in the back of her throat. "Or, or, maybe psychics," Ms. Podock said quickly. "You're a very smart girl, I think you'd get along well with them."

"Bu-but I lo-lo-love fire type pokemon." Gemma sobbed. "They're my favorite!"

The whole class was silent now, the assignment to draw their future pokemon team forgotten in the face of the unfolding drama. "Now Gemma, calm down now-"

"And Flame is my favoritest of all! He's not mean or dangerous! He's nice and plays with me and keeps me away from meanies and-"

"Gemma!"

Immediately Gemma quieted, sniffling. The whole class was whispering at the spectacle. Ms. Podock took a breath and leaned in close to Gemma. "Sweetie, I know that fire types are your favorite. Lots of people have a favorite. That doesn't mean that you can't have others to help you out too."

Gemma sniffled and wiped her nose on her arm. "But you said they're mean." She whined. "They're not all mean."

"I know, it's just-"

"They're not all like Team Magma."

Ms. Podock stilled and looked at the child in front of her. _Really_ looked. Her olive skin was blotchy, and her brown eyes were red from crying, but those eyes held an intelligence and understanding that belied her years. "Where did you hear that?"

Gemma sniffed again. "I hear people talking about Mama and Flame. They say mean things about Flame and Maggie and Floof when they're out around her."

Ms. Podock nodded. The Clash of the Titans had really turned people off of the few fire types in the region. While water types were so numerous that it would be impossible to shun the entirety of water trainers, there were so few fire trainers that they were instantly targeted as being part of Team Magma.

"That's why I wanted you to pick another companion type. What's your second favorite type?"

Gemma thought about it for a little bit before brightening up. "Fighting."

A smile was forced onto Ms. Podock's face. "Are you sure about that? Fighting types can be…a little rough to handle sometimes."

Gemma's nervousness came back. "Y-yes?" Brown eyes skittered around the room, to her drawing, at her fellow students getting back to work, anywhere but at her teacher.

The tentative answer snapped Ms. Podock out of her personal feelings. "Well that's a great type I think. Why don't you start again and put some of your favorite fighting types into your picture hmm?"

The odd note in Ms. Podock's voice was a little strange, but Gemma decided that if she had her teacher's blessing, it was a good choice. She reached for a new piece of paper and looked for the green crayon.

* * *

"Hey, look who it is! Junky Gemma." Two boys and a girl came over during lunch break a few weeks later and sat around her. Gemma huddled in closer to herself as they crowded into her personal space.

"Hi Dean," she mumbled.

"I hear you want to be a fighting type trainer now," Dean said. "Figures someone like you would pick big ugly brutes to train."

The other two snickered. "Yeah, I bet she just doesn't know how to train anything that can't hit!" the other boy bit out.

"That's not true Louis," Gemma ground out.

"Ohhh, Sadie, she thinks we're serious!" Louis turned to the girl at his side.

Sadie smiled. "Don't worry Gemma, we all know that you really want to get mistaken as something useful and caught by a real trainer thinking you were a pokemon."

Gemma wilted under their words. "Hey, c'mon." Dean whined. "Don't be so sensitive."

Gemma clenched her fists. These three had been tormenting her for a long time now, ever since they found out she didn't have the best social skills. Since then they made sure she never really had friends of her own, not with such a small class size. Oh, they never got physical, but their words were like poison points, wounding and chipping away with every encounter.

Sadie noticed her tense. "Careful Dean, she might decide to train herself early and punch you."

"Ha. She's not sneaky enough. She'd never get away with it," Dean scoffed.

"Besides," Louis chimed in. "She'll always be a loser anyway." The three laughed at the helpless rage Gemma showed on her face.

Before she could really think about it, she lunged at Louis, bringing him to the ground. The three tormentors screamed in surprise and fear. For once their favorite verbal punching bag was fighting back. The two scrabbled on the floor, each screaming incoherent things at each other. Gemma was pretty sure she was shouting that she would be the best, that she'd show them, but the words blurred in the cacophony of sound that her world had become.

She was suddenly hauled away from Louis and she noticed that teachers and hall monitors had swarmed the area. Looking up, she saw Ms. Podock had a firm grip on her shoulder. The look on her face made Gemma recoil at the fear and disgust she saw there.

"She's crazy!" Louis shouted. "She attacked me out of nowhere like a crazy fighter!"

Gemma's blood boiled and she shouted back. "At least fighters have honor and respect! You would rather attack from the shadows with a knife in the back!" Ms. Podock pulled Gemma away from the trio towards the office. "At least I'm not a meanie like you!" was the last thing she got out before she was forcibly turned around and marched to the office to await judgement.

* * *

Mamma sighed. "Gemma, why did you decide to attack that boy today?"

Gemma twiddled her fingers and kicked her feet in the chair she was sitting in. So maybe attacking Louis wasn't the best plan, but he'd been mean to her for so long! Like, since last year!

"Gemma, honey, what's wrong?" There was no response from Gemma and Mamma sighed again. "Well, until we get this figured out, you can't go back to school."

"Good." The word was muffled and quiet, but there was no mistaking the feeling behind the word. "I don't like it there anyway."

"Gemma…" Mamma knelt down by her side. "I know school can be…difficult. But you need to get a good education. You're only six, you still need to learn."

"But I don't like it there!" Gemma finally met Mamma's eyes. "They're mean to me and they say mean things about Flame and they don't think that I can be the best like you Mamma."

Mamma furrowed her brow. "What do they say?"

Gemma suddenly clammed up and ducked her head again. Mamma waited for a minute until it became clear that she wouldn't get an answer. From the corner, a golden vulpine figure unfolded from a soft cushion and gracefully walked up to Gemma. Nine orange-tipped tails swayed around in the air and a delicate head was placed on Gemma's knee. Ruby eyes connected with brown and Gemma couldn't help but smile at the pitiful pleading look in them. "Flame, you're silly." Flame closed his eyes in bliss when Gemma ran her fingers through the tuft of hair between his ears, smile growing wider at the familiar motion.

Mamma smiled down at the sight of her child reducing her ninetails into a contented pile of fur. At least this event wasn't some sign of a drastic sudden change in personality. Which could only mean one thing. A frown crossed her face at the thought that Gemma had been pushed so far her normally peaceable child had resorted to violence. "Gemma, what happened today?"

The small hand petting Flame's fur stilled. "They said I was a loser. And a pokemon. I don't think my teacher likes me."

Mamma's lips thinned. So it was something that had happened at school. "Why don't you think your teacher likes you?"

"She told me that fire pokemon were mean and dangerous. But they're not! I love your pokemon, and I want to be just like you! And when I told her that I liked fighting types too, she said I should travel with fairies or psychics or…or… _water_ pokemon!"

Mamma was speechless. She'd never thought her little ember would be up against such opposition. But the speech wasn't done. Now that she'd started, Gemma just kept going. "And the kids are mean to me and I don't have any friends even though I've _tried_ to make some, but Louis and Dean and Sadie keep everyone away from me and they're just so…so… _mean!"_ Chubby fingers clenched in Flame's fur at the injustice of it all.

"And I don't learn as much there as I do from you and Flame and Dad and I don't like school. Why can't you teach me?" Brown eyes barely held back tears when they looked at Mamma, hoping beyond hope that Mamma would agree.

"Gemma, I…"

"Pleeeaassee? I promise I'll be the best student ever, I won't even let Flame distract me during lessons!" Gemma's hands were flung wide and Flame opened his eyes at the loss of touch.

Mamma was surprised. She'd never seen Gemma so animated about anything other than fire pokemon. "Well, I'll need to talk to your father about this when he gets back from working on the construction site."

A smile broke out on Gemma's face. Dad could never say no to her.

* * *

Gemma fidgeted her fingers together as she waited for the results of her graduation exam to be shown. Mamma had done all she could to make sure that she was ready to take the standardized test that would prove she was ready for her pokemon journey.

The last seven years had been fun, and she had gotten to know the close-knit group of homeschool kids rather well despite the fact that they lived in different areas of the region. She wasn't the most social person, but she was able to make a friend from the small group without the other kids working against her.

Despite that, she wanted to get her journey _started_ already! So she had taken the graduation exam a semester early. If she scored high enough, she'd be able to get a pick of one of the pokemon from Professer Birch himself! And if it wasn't one of the traditional fire/grass/water types, he'd no doubt help her to find a good pokemon on the first route anyway!

She once again turned to her dream, one that was started seven years ago from her public school teacher. In her mind, she was standing at the top of a pedestal, basking in the adoration from everyone around her. Beside her was a glorious blaziken, her starter if she had the chance. Their face was fierce and proud, but when they looked at her, their eyes were kind and friendly. On her other side was a gallade, stolid and strong in his stance. His red eyes peered out at the crowd, ever vigilant for trouble.

The remaining pokemon were an ever changing array of fire or fighting type pokemon, but she had studied the two types long enough to know just what she would get in different circumstances. If she had a vulpix, a meditite was out of the question. Camerupt would love to have a makuhita, but a machop would probably be too excited to lift the heavy pokemon for training to ever be good friends.

She had studied the two different types over and over, and was confident that she could handle anything they could throw at her. After all, if she wanted a good team, she couldn't go catching them without a lot of thought and effort put into connecting with them. Too many people on her team and she wouldn't be able to devote enough time to each of them.

Not that that was the only thing she studied; after all there were so many more things that were learned in school than just pokemon. Sure it was there, but they also focused on being prepared for their eventual journey, being able to count and multiply enough that they would never be without supplies or would know when to take on an extra job. There were frequent trips to the wilderness where she would have to survive for a few days, the amount of help Mamma would provide decreasing as the years went on.

The test also focused on basic needs and services the centers and gyms provided as well as literacy, history, and basic medicine. Nobody wanted to send their children out into the wilderness without arming them with the best knowledge they could have.

A rustle of paper brought her back to the present. "Gemma Lassiter?" Gemma gave a nod to the woman behind the desk. She spared a glance to the keckleon changing colors on the desk. It was a little distracting. "Hmmm, looks like you did very well for this year. You scored reasonably well on the survival portion and fairly well on the knowledge section. It was your exceptional practical section that really pushed you into top scorers however; most people can't get vulpix to follow orders as well as you and you knew what to look for in the fight to guide your pokemon to victory. "

"So… did I do well enough?"

The woman's eyes flicked up to Gemma's. A slow smile spread over her face. "Yes, you did very well. You'll be able to get Birch's help for your starter if you want." Gemma smiled and did a victory punch, her excitement overwhelming her nervousness. The woman let her have a moment before continuing. "Now, you'll just need to fill out this form with your preference. We can't promise that you'll get the pokemon you want, but it is very likely. There were only four people in the top ten percentile, and two of them have already said that they have their own starters picked out from family, so odds are good you'll get what you want."

The paper was snatched up and the woman smiled at the exuberance of youth. She was just barely able to tell Gemma that she'd need her parent's permission before she was a speck in the distance.

Gemma raced home, overjoyed at the thought of getting her ideal starter. What would she name it? Something that would encompass every aspect of the pokemon. Something that was hard and tough on the outside, but soft and caring to those they saw as family. Something that was dangerous and beautiful, neither characteristic outshining the other. Flame was out, no way was she just going to copy her mom, and that would make family reunions strange.

"Well hello my little ember, you look excited today." Mamma called out when Gemma rushed through the door.

"Mammaaa! I'm too old to be an ember now."

Mamma chuckled. "Of course you are sweetie. How did your test go?" She was looking curiously at the paper Gemma clutched in her hand.

Gemma's smile blinded the room. "I'm going to get a torchic from Professor Birch!" she crowed. "I did really really well and they gave me a vulpix to command for the practical set."

"That seems like borderline cheating to me, you know just what to do with Flame's kits to make them follow you." Mamma mused. "Good for you though, you'll be a great fire trainer."

"Yeah! I'm going to be the best!" The smile was still firmly affixed to her face. She hurriedly pushed the paper in front of Mamma. "You need to sign this if I want to get a torchic."

Mamma smiled and pulled the paper closer, reading over the agreement. It was pretty standard stuff, disclaiming the professor from providing a different pokemon than anticipated, allowing a little bit of field work if there were no available starters lined up or too many people and not enough prepared pokemon. She had barely finished signing it before Gemma pulled it away and ran out the door to turn it in.

She couldn't believe that she was going to get her favorite pokemon! A blaziken! Well, a torchic to start with, but it would grow up to be a gorgeous and strong blaziken in no time. What should she name it? Ember would make it confused if she ever wanted it to use the move by the same name. Flare? Nah, too much like Flame for her taste.

She turned in the form, securing her spot at Birch's laboratory in a month when the official 'season' of training began. The question of a name plagued her throughout her trip back and she looked to the sky for inspiration.

The sky blazed orange from the setting sun against the clouds. It was a beautiful color, glowing with an inner color. Maybe she should name her torchic Orange?

…

No, that was stupid. Besides, it was less of an orange and more of a brownish, goldenish, orangish color. Like an…

Amber.

It was perfect! Amber was tough, but beautiful. It was made of a soft gooey center that had hardened over the years and could hold bugs that had been trapped in its depths. Androgynous enough to give to even a male torchic, but unmistakably a fire type name.

She strolled back to her house as dusk settled over the small town she'd be leaving soon enough. She couldn't wait to start her journey through Hoenn with her fighting firebird Amber at her side.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **So that's a little backstory on how Gemma got to be the person who was obsessed with fire type pokemon from my other fic. I figure that a very standard ambition is "I want to be the best". It's not necessarily what everyone actually wants, and they figure that out on their journey, but it's similar to growing up with "I want to be president" or "I want to be an astronaut." It's something that kids are** _ **expected**_ **to want to become.**

 **Also, now y'all know why Gemma is such a jerk to Gilly in the first couple of chapters of A Little Bit of Gillyness. She's built up this dream to be a part of her, and getting Gilly ruined that.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the one-shot!**


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